The Elusive AD 1826 Tsunami, South Westland, New Zealand

In AD 1826 sealers reported earthquake and tsunami activity in Fiordland, although, contemporary or near‐contemporary accounts of tsunami inundation at the time are elusive. A detailed analysis of recent sediments from Okarito Lagoon builds on contextual evidence provided by earlier research concerning past tsunami inundation. Sedimentological, geochemical, micropalaeontological and geochronological data are used to determine palaeoenvironments before, during and after what was most probably tsunami inundation in AD 1826. The most compelling chronological control is provided fry a young cohort of trees growing on a raised shoreline bench stranded fry a drop in the lagoon water level following tsunami inundation.     

Formation of Paleoproterozoic eclogitic mantle, Slave Province (Canada): Insights from in-situ Hf and U–Pb isotopic analyses of mantle zircons

In-situ Hf isotope analyses and U–Pb dates were obtained by laser ablation-MC-ICP-MS for a zircon-bearing mantle eclogite xenolith from the diamondiferous Jericho kimberlite located within the Archean Slave Province (Nunavut), Canada. The U–Pb zircon results yield a wide range of ages (2.0 to 0.8 Ga) indicating a complex geological history. Of importance, one zircon yields a U–Pb upper intercept date of 1989 ± 67 Ma, providing a new minimum age constraint for zircon crystallization and eclogite formation. In contrast, Hf isotope systematics for the same zircons display an intriguing uniformity, and corresponding Hf depleted mantle model ages range between 2.1 ± 0.1 and 2.3 ± 0.1 Ga; the youngest Hf model age is within error to the oldest U–Pb date.

The Jericho eclogites have previously been interpreted as representing remnants of metamorphosed oceanic crust, and their formation related to Paleoproterozoic subduction regimes along the western margin of the Archean Slave craton during the Wopmay orogeny. Hf isotope compositions and U–Pb results for the Jericho zircons reported here are in good agreement with a Paleoproterozoic subduction model, suggesting that generation of oceanic crust and eclogite formation occurred between 2.0 and 2.1 Ga. The slightly older Hf depleted mantle model ages (2.1 to 2.3 Ga) may be reconciled with this model by invoking mixing between ‘crustal’-derived Hf from sediments and more radiogenic Hf associated with the oceanic crust during the 2 Ga subduction event. This results in intermediate Hf isotope compositions for the Jericho zircons that yield ‘fictitiously’ older Hf model ages.     

The effect of water on accessory phase solubility in subaluminous and peralkaline granitic melts

The solubilities of columbite, tantalite, wolframite, rutile, zircon and hafnon were determined as a function of the water contents in peralkaline and subaluminous granite melts. All experiments were conducted at 1035 °C and 2 kbar and the water contents of the melts ranged from nominally dry to approximately 6 wt.% H₂O. Accessory phase solubilities are not affected by the water content of the peralkaline melt. By contrast, solubilities are affected by the water content of the subaluminous melt, where the solubilities of all the accessory phases examined increase with the water content of the melt, up to 2 wt.% H₂O. At higher water contents, solubilities are nearly constant. It can be concluded that water is not an important control of accessory phase solubility, although the water content will affect diffusivities of components in the melt, thus whether or not accessory phases will be present as restite material. The solubility behaviour in the subaluminous and peralkaline melts supports previous spectroscopic studies, which have observed differences in the coordination of high field strength elements in dry vs. wet subaluminous granitic glasses, but not for peralkaline granitic glasses. Lastly, the fact that wolframite solubility increases with increasing water content in the subaluminous melt suggests that tungsten dissolved as a hexavalent species.     

Pronounced occurrence of long-chain alkenones and dinosterol in a 25,000-year lipid molecular fossil record from Lake Titicaca, South America

Our analysis of lipid molecular fossils from a Lake Titicaca (16° S, 69° W) sediment core reveals distinct changes in the ecology of the lake over an ∼25,000-yr period spanning latest Pleistocene to late Holocene time. Previous investigations have shown that over this time period Lake Titicaca was subject to large changes in lake level in response to regional climatic variability. Our results indicate that lake algal populations were greatly affected by the changing physical and chemical conditions in Lake Titicaca. Hydrocarbons are characterized by a combination of odd-numbered, mid- to long-chain (C₂₁-C₃₁) normal alkanes and alkenes. During periods when lake level was higher (latest Pleistocene, early Holocene, and late Holocene), the C₂₁n-alkane, and the C₂₅ and C₂₇ alkenes dominate hydrocarbon distributions and indicate contribution from an algal source, potentially the freshwater alga Botryococcus braunii. The C₃₀ 4 α-methyl sterol (dinosterol) increases sharply during the mid-Holocene, suggesting a greatly increased dinoflagellate presence at that time. Long-chain alkenones (LCAs) become significant during the early Holocene and are highly abundant in mid-Holocene samples. There are relatively few published records of LCA detection in lake sediments but their occurrence is geographically widespread (Antarctica, Asia, Europe, North America). Lake Titicaca represents the first South American lake and the first low-latitude lake in which LCAs have been reported. LCA abundance and distribution may be related to the temperature-dependent response of an unidentified algal precursor. Although the LCA unsaturation indices cannot be used to determine absolute Lake Titicaca temperatures, we suspect that the published LCA U₃₇^K unsaturation calibrations can be applied to infer relative temperatures for early to mid-Holocene time when LCA concentrations are high. Using these criteria, the U₃₇^K unsaturation indices suggest relatively warmer temperatures in the mid-Holocene. In contrast to previous speculation, lipid analysis provides little evidence of a greatly increased presence of aquatic plants during the mid-Holocene. Instead, it appears that a few algal species were dominant in the lake. Based on the dramatic rise in abundances of LCAs and dinosterol during the early to mid-Holocene, we suspect that the algal producers of these compounds rose in response to a combination of physical and chemical changes in the lake. These include temperature, salinity, and alkalinity changes that occurred as lake level dropped sharply during a multi-millennial drought affecting the Central Andean Altiplano.     

A high-resolution TEM-AEM, pH titration, and modeling study of Zn coprecipitation with ferrihydrite

Experiments of Zn²⁺ and Fe³⁺ coprecipitation as a function of pH were conducted in the laboratory at ambient temperature and pressure. X-ray diffraction patterns of the coprecipitates show two broad peaks at 0.149 and 0.258 nm, which is consistent with published patterns for pure 2-line ferrihydrite. Zn²⁺ uptake occurred at pH ≥5 while Fe³⁺ precipitation occurred between pH 3 and 4, although both Zn²⁺ and Fe³⁺ were present in the same solution during the entire range of pH titration. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy shows that the coprecipitates are 2 to 6 nm sized single crystalline particles but aggregated to 50 to 400 nm sized clusters. Analytical electron microscopy indicated that the 5% atomic Zn with respect to Fe was homogeneously distributed. No segregated phases were found in the clusters or at single crystal edges, which is consistent with published extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) results at similar Zn/(Zn + Fe) ratios. Hence, occlusion and surface precipitation may be excluded as possible coprecipitation mechanisms. The bulk solution Zn²⁺ sorption edge was fitted to both solid solution and generalized diffuse layer surface complexation models. However, a solid solution model is inconsistent with published EXAFS results that show tetrahedral polydentate Zn²⁺ complexes sharing apices with Fe³⁺octahedra.     

The carbon and sulfur cycles and atmospheric oxygen from middle Permian to middle Triassic

The results of a theoretical isotope mass balance model are presented for the time dependence of burial and weathering-plus-degassing fluxes within the combined long-term carbon and sulfur cycles. Averaged data for oceanic δ¹³C and δ³⁴S were entered for every million years from 270 to 240 Ma (middle Permian to middle Triassic) to study general trends across the Permian-Triassic boundary. Results show a drop in the rate of global organic matter burial during the late Permian and a predominance of low values during the early-to-middle Triassic. This overall decrease with time is ascribed mainly to epochs of conversion of high biomass forests to low biomass herbaceous vegetation resulting in a decrease in the production of terrestrially derived organic debris. Additional contributions to lessened terrestrial carbon burial were increased aridity and a drop in sea level during the late Permian which led to smaller areas of low-lying coastal wetlands suitable for coal and peat deposition.Mirroring the drop in organic matter deposition was an increase in the burial of sedimentary pyrite, and a dramatic increase in the calculated global mean ratio of pyrite-S to organic-C. High S/C values resulted from an increase of deposition in marine euxinic basins combined with a decrease in the burial of low-pyrite associated terrestrial organic matter. The prediction of increased oceanic anoxia during the late Permian and early Triassic agrees with independent studies of the composition of sedimentary rocks.Weathering plus burial fluxes for organic carbon and pyrite sulfur were used to calculate changes in atmospheric oxygen. The striking result is a continuous drop in O₂ concentration from ∼30% to ∼13% over a twenty million year period. This drop was brought about mainly by a decrease in the burial of terrestrially derived organic matter. but with a possible contribution from the weathering of older organic matter on land. It must have exerted a considerable influence on animal evolution because of the role of O₂ in respiration. Some examples are the extinction of many vertebrates, loss of giant insects and amphibians, and the restriction of animals to low elevations. It is concluded that the extinction of plants may have contributed to the extinction of animals.     

Devon's desert ‘worms’

Worm‐like trace fossils, sometimes of large size, have regularly been reported from the otherwise generally poorly‐fossiliferous Permo‐Triassic continental red beds of the East Devon coast, southwest England. Selected examples are discussed here to outline the difficulties involved in elucidating the true producers of these burrows and interpreting their significance in the local palaeoenvironment.